by Jorge L. Ortiz, USAToday

by Jorge L. Ortiz, USAToday

OAKLAND ‚?? Sean Doolittle is aware of his astonishing numbers. How could he not be when one wide-eyed news reporter after another keeps bringing them up?

They don't drive him or prompt him to alter his pitching style, but the Oakland Athletics closer admits, "It's crazy, I'll acknowledge that.''

Yes, piling up 48 strikeouts against one walk by this point of the season qualifies as baseball insanity, and in fact, there's no record of anybody ever doing it before. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, Doolittle is the first pitcher since 1900 (as far back as accurate records go) to strike out 45 batters before giving up his second walk.

The next-best strikeout-to-walk ratio in the majors is David Price's 12.1-to-1. Among relievers, it's Joakim Soria's 11.3-to-1.

The mind-blowing stats don't end there. Since May 10, Doolittle has retired 51 of the 55 batters he has faced, 27 of them via strikeout.

That's part of a stretch of 20 consecutive scoreless outings (22 1/3 innings) for the left-handed fireballer, who opened the season as a setup man and became the closer after Jim Johnson and Luke Gregerson faltered in the role.

Just as remarkably, Doolittle has overwhelmed hitters ‚?? they have compiled a .171 on-base percentage against him ‚?? with essentially one pitch, a fastball in the 95 mph range he throws 85% of the time. No gimmicks, no tricks, just country hardball.

"He throws a hard fastball up in the zone and it's difficult to get around on it. That's what makes him tough,'' Texas Rangers outfielder Alex Rios said. "If he threw it low, it would get hit, but he throws it at the top of the zone.''

That's one of the pearls of wisdom Doolittle picked up in his days as a hitter. The third-year reliever was converted to pitcher late in 2011, after an injury to his left knee wrecked his career as a first baseman and outfielder.

Doolittle, who was a pitcher and position player in college at Virginia, made a swift climb through the minors in 2012, striking out 48 in 25 innings at three levels before making his major league debut in June of that year.

He registered ERAs of 3.04 and 3.13 as a setup man in the A's sturdy bullpen the last two seasons, developing an aggressive approach that harkens to his previous life.

"Having been a hitter and realizing how hard hitting is, I'm willing to challenge contact in the zone,'' said Doolittle, 27. "A lefty with a little velocity, a little bit of deception, I know how hard it can be to square the ball.''

Still, it's one thing to be around the plate, another one to go weeks at a time in between walks. Doolittle's only base on balls in 34 innings this season came on May 20. The one before that was on Aug. 31. He has been murder on lefties (.130 batting average) and poison on righties (.187).

That's what another A's closer known for his remarkable control used to do. Hall of Famer Dennis Eckersley had back-to-back seasons, 1989-90, when he struck out 18 batters for every one he walked.

Eckersley, in town as a broadcaster for the Boston Red Sox, has been impressed with their closer Koji Uehara, who has struck out 43 while walking four in 32 2/3 innings. Doolittle's mastery over hitters has been even more complete.

"It's incredible they can't get on top of that fastball knowing that it's coming,'' Eckersley said. "But beyond that, when you have that kind of gas, it's hard to control. Just one little tick and it's high.''

Perhaps sensing a breakthrough, the A's signed Doolittle to a five-year, $10.5 million extension in April, with bonuses for games finished between 2015-17. Doolittle has seized the closer role and converted eight consecutive save chances, giving no indication he's going to relinquish it.

And as Eckersley noted, because of his late-career conversion, Doolittle has a fresh arm and head.